North Reading Elementary School Students Named Winner of National Science Award

Four third-graders from the in North Reading have been selected as a national winner for the 2012 Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision program, according to the Boston Globe. Megan Carey, Sarah Hatton, Brian Heffernan and Blake Miller make up the The SMARTdesk team and their entry in the contest was chosen from 4,807.

The students stay after school at least once per week to work on their project, and have been since October. They are trying to build the desk of the future.

For several months, they have been working on every detail. They have built a prototype, a web site and a rap song that describes their project. According to the Globe, their SMARTdesk will help teachers with attendance, assignments and other daily tasks with the aid of a SMARTpencil that is similar to a stylus but can read students answers.

Each student on the team will receive a $5,000 savings bond and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C.

According to third grade teacher at the Batchelder School Bill Cassell they will be in D.C. for three days of activities including a meeting and tour of Capitol Hill, a National Press Club dinner, satellite media tour and evening reception and gala awards banquet. 

“We may even meet Bill Nye the Science Guy, you never know,” Cassell said.

The idea if the program is to give students an opportunity to explore technology, find a current problem, look at current technology and imagine what will exist 20 years from now, Cassell said. They also have to imagine what pros and cons can come from that technology.

“They are a great group of kids,” he said. “We do the program not to win, that’s icing on the cake.”

He described his students, and their win as both unbelievable and phenomenal.